Workers Compensation Claims

If you have been injured at work, or suffered a disease or condition caused by your work, you may be eligible to make a claim for workers compensation.

Things to consider:

• Have you notified your employer of the accident or injury?
• Was an accident report completed and if so, when, and by whom?
• Was an employee insurance claim form completed and do you have a copy?

If your employer at the time of the injury is/was a Government agency or similar, then any such claim would be handled by Comcare.

There is a different system of workers compensation in NSW from that in the ACT. We will explain the differences.

Claims relating to work accidents are subject to various time limits. Please call us immediately to find out if you are too late to make a claim or still have time.

There are two types of claims for workers compensation in the ACT, leaving aside Comcare claims.

Statutory workers compensation claim

This is your basic cover. It pays for your time off work, subject to certain limitations and for all your reasonable treatment and care expenses. Lump sums are available for permanent impairment and the insurance company covers your legal expenses. In the ACT, the insurer will often want to ‘commute’ your rights by payment of a lump sum to finalise your claim. By law, you need a lawyer to advise you before any lump sum claims can be finalised.

Common law workers compensation claim

This claim is additional to your statutory claim and can be worth significantly more to you. However, such claims only succeed where it can be proven that your injury occurred as a result of the negligent, actions or inactions of your employer. We will advise you as to whether or not it is likely that you have a common law claim.